What Is Timeline Thinking? A Deaf Perspective on Clarity, Focus, and Life Organization

What Is Timeline Thinking? A Deaf Perspective

How Deaf People Experience Time Differently

Why Sequential and Visual Thinking Matters

How Deaf Linguistics Shapes Timeline Thinking: Signing Past, Present, and Future

How ASL Represents Time Visually and Spatially

How do Deaf People Think?

What does it mean to be Visually Oriented?

The Fascination

Two things that really fascinate me:

How things came to be

(History, Geography, and Science)

The way people live

(Cultures, Demographics, and Society)

I enjoy seeing the way.

I’ve always enjoyed writing; as young as five years old. My earliest stories were families going on vacation.

From a young age, I’ve loved linguistics. Homonyms, Antonyms, Etymology, Word Origins, Thesaurus. Even dictionaries! Root words, in other words.

The Passion

I was born Deaf.

“I was born this way.”

Since the beginning, I’ve always found ways to adapt myself to others

“The way I came to be”

You have my attention; what’s going on? Sit closer. Talk slower. I’m listening to each word and every word said. I’m right here. I’m trying to hear right.

Putting it all together; I gather context information in blocks. Building blocks of information over the course of conversation/time.

The Struggle

Living with a “diagnosis”; I’ve never known any different. But, I can see the difference.

From birth to death; I can’t change the way. The way I was born. I was born missing a sense. Hearing Aids help. However, a lot is blocked out. I miss out on normal communication, ya know?

How Sound Reaches the Brain: The Biology of Hearing

Can a Deaf Person Hear?
My Journey as a Deaf Trekker

For the longest time, I’ve lived with the idea that there’s no cure. However, in recent years, modern medicine strikes again. Does it just amplify? Or has science found a way to rewire the brain?

Can Hearing Loss Be Cured?

Deeply Rooted

I learned English and ASL together at the age of 2. Everyone around me spoke English. I learned ASL at school. I learned how to spell very early in life. I was reading and writing before the age of 5. As I grew older; I saw differences.

Language and Development

The English language has so many words!

***Out of all the languages; Arabic (the O.G. Language) has the most words: over 12 Million!

Wonderful. Amazing. Marvelous.
One sign fits all.

So many similar words have one sign. So many words have no sign. S-P-E-L-L it out. Left to Right: Like a typewriter.

ASL Grammar

Its a complete different structure of sentence. With ASL; Connection words (a, at, the, am, is, are, was, were, be) are left out.

Conjunction in American Sign Language

Look Around

Watching other people express themselves. I can hear. It’s just very hard to understand.

Normalchatterandbantersoundslikethis.

WhatareallthesepeopletalkingaboutIhavenoidea.

See what I’m Saying?

From a young age; I had differences. I grew up extremely independent. Learning how to communicate and express myself. Finding ways to adapt.

If I… Stand closer to someone I’ll hear better.

How I… Wait for a food order, I stand right next to the pick up counter.

When I…Start something, I can see the way to finish it. In order. And a pretty good idea how much time it will take.

What’s Important About Spatial Awareness?

What happened?

Let’s talk about what happened. It’s a step-by-step sequence. Everything is in context.

ASL is a visual language. Not only facial cues; but the structure flow. Positioning yourself in different ways to convey.

Pointing Left or Right; he/him, she/her/they/them/those people/that group

Inward or Outward; me/you.

Behind; To talk about the past.

Near; Talking about the present.

Front; To talk about the future

Time to Talk about it

It was a step-by-step sequence to find ways to adapt. From the beginning, I was born this way. Gathering and building information in blocks.

How do Deaf People Think?
My Journey as a Deaf Trekker.

I’m now an adult; and I’ve been wearing hearing aids for over 30 years. Hearing Aids help. However, I am grateful for the way it came to be. To some people, my thinking is… different. But, after all these years; I’ve found a glitch in the matrix.

In other words:

I am Visually Oriented…

Yet, I think in Sequential Words.

Temporal Awareness: Understanding the Timing and Rhythms of Life

Elements of the Matrix

Deaf; Thinking, Critically, Answering. Impulsive and direct decisions. Blunt.

Process of the progress: A-D-Z.

Hearing; Feeling, Analyzing, Brainstorming, gathering information, exploring options. Careful coherent planning.

Progress of the process; A-B-C-D-E-F…

Hearing Loss and its Effect on Brain Function

A Life-time or time-life?

As a Deaf person; Time becomes concrete. I can see time and feel time. It’s a sequence that I understand. Year after year; throughout history, we’re all here Building Blocks.

*** At any given moment; I can tell you what time it feels like. Sometimes I’ll be off by a few minutes.